William Elliot
William Elliot is a character in Persuasion. He is a distant cousin of Sir Walter Elliot's and is the great grandson of the second Sir Walter. He is heir presumptive of the baronetcy and the family seat, Kellynch Hall. Sir Walter invited him to Kellynch in order to push him to his eldest daughter and favorite, Elizabeth. He was aloof and later they heard he had married an heiress of inferior birth''Persuasion'', Chapter 1. Mrs. William Elliot later died and he kept her fortune. Biography Estrangement William ignored Sir Walter's open arms at first, and didn't wish to marry Elizabeth. He instead married an heiress, becoming wildly wealthy. She later died, leaving him with a fortune. It was revealed that he had married her solely for her money and that he held his distant cousins in cold contempt. He knew Mrs. Smith at that time, and talked with her often, learning about the Elliots, namely Anne. She tried to convince him that Anne was different from her sister, and better. Reconciliation William was spotted by his cousins Mary Musgrove and Anne Elliot when they were staying at Lyme. He had ridden off quickly, although he looked fashionable and wealthyChapter 12. Later, he visited Sir Walter in Bath, lamenting the lost years and attributing it to misapprehension. Sir Walter and Elizabeth were very taken with him. Mrs. Clay, Elizabeth's friend, tried to encourage her in the direction of a romance with him. All of his actions confused Anne, since William seemed to be wealthier than her father at this point. She was mainly confused about why William would want to reconcile after all this time, but wrote it off thinking that perhaps there had been an interest between William and Elizabeth. William became good friends with the Elliots, and made them the cream of Bath society. He stayed in the Marlborough Buildings, housing that is extremely fashionable and luxurious. He introduced the Elliots to many people, including Colonel and Mrs. Wallis. Upon meeting Anne, he made himself exceedingly agreeable. He shared her dislike of Mrs. Clay, whom they both thought as an upstart with designs on Sir Walter. He also encouraged the Elliots—namely Anne as Sir Walter and Elizabeth need no encouragement—to get to know Lady Dalrymple and her daughter, as the connection would only further their rise into Bath society. Pursuit of Anne William had heard about Anne from a prior acquaintance, later revealed to be Mrs. Smith, and began to have designs on her. He was talking about his affection for her at a concert hosted by Lady Dalrymple. Anne was taken aback and uncomfortable about his attentions, because she didn't think of him in a romantic way. Her old love, Frederick Wentworth, heard that William intended to propose marriage to Anne, and had to leave the concert in a hurryChapter 20. Traits and characteristics After an initially rocky start, William endeared himself to the Elliots. Like Sir Walter and Elizabeth, he valued rank and prestige. He also valued good conversation, education, and well-informed people, thus endearing himself to Anne Elliot and Lady Russell. Anne thought him to be their most agreeable acquaintance in BathChapter 16. According to Mrs. Smith, William married solely for money, and only upon making sure his bride had a large dowry. He also was blatantly disrespectful about Anne's family, and even said he would sell the baronetcy for 50 pounds. Notes and references Category:Characters in Persuasion Category:Male characters (Persuasion)